The exterior of the vase is decorated with a depiction of egrets in a
lotus pond. The aubergine ground is unusual and suggests that the vase
dates from an early phase in the evolution of the famille verte palette,
before the green or black backgrounds had come to predominate. Otherwise
the enamel colors are the same as those used later (black, yellow,
aubergine, and three shades of green, including lime green). The dark
texture strokes appear to have been painted over the enamel washes, instead
of under the enamels as is more typical.

The vase is also unusual in that it represents a rare appearance of the
meiping shape in the early Qing dynasty. Following the late-Ming Wanli
reign (1570-1620), the meiping occurred only rarely in the seventeenth
century.

(Text by Stephen Little, published in the NGA Systematic Catalogue: Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings; Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets)